Violence shadow looms
Final phase of UP polls today
Staff Reporter
The sixth and final phase of the union parishad (UP) polls is going to be held today amid apprehension of violence and irregularities, given that the previous five phases were not entirely peaceful. Pre-election violence has already claimed three lives in Narsingdhi, Gaibandha and Narial. Over hundreds were injured in clashes on the eve of the sixth phase of polling in 710 UPs. The Election Commission (EC) yesterday announced it has made all necessary preparations for holding peaceful polls. Also yesterday, the EC withdrew two police officers for alleged irregularities. The ASP of Gopalpur circle in Tangail, Jamiruddin Sarkar, and the OC of Shailkupa upazila were withdrawn on charges of harassing candidates, mass arrest and bias towards some candidates.
Besides, a case was filed against a ruling party MP in Chittagong for allegedly assaulting an election official in Banshkahli upazila. On Wednesday, Banshkahli lawmaker Mostafizur Rahman Chowdhury and his supporters had allegedly assaulted upazila election officer Zahid Hossain and forced him out of his office premises. The MP was apparently miffed at Hossain for his refusal to comply with the lawmakers desire to appoint his supporters as polling officers in Banshkhali upazila. The incident had sparked wide criticism, prompting the EC to postpone the sixth phase polls in 14 UPs in Banshkhali. The commission also ordered police to file a case against the MP. I have received a written order from the EC to file a case for assaulting a government official. We have recorded the case as per the EC directive, OC of Banshkhali police station Mohammad Alamgir said.
Besides Chowdhury, Maulvi Akhter, president of the Banshkhali upazila Awami Olama League, and MPs private secretary Tajul Islam, chairman aspirant of Barharchara union parishad, and some unnamed people were named as co-accused in the assault case.
Todays elections are crucial for the EC because it would be the poll monitors final test to hold peaceful UP polls contested under political banners for the first time. According to various media estimates, at least 98 people have been killed and several thousand injured in poll violence so far. The commission has, however, refused to shoulder responsibility for the large-scale violence and irregularities. After every phase so far, the ECs standard reply has been the incidents of violence were isolated and overall the elections were fair and peaceful. Meanwhile, stray incidents of violence were reported ahead of the sixth phase in Gaibandha and Naogaon. In Gaibandha, miscreants had fired at BNP candidate Azizur Rahman while he was sleeping in his home at Dakatiar Char village in Erendabari union of Fulchharia upazila yesterday. Locals detained four people in this connection and handed them over to BGB personnel deployed in the area for election duty. The accused were identified as Mechheruddin, 35, Jahangir Alam, 25, Shahin Alam, 24, and Mehedi Hasan, 20.
Azizur Rahman was admitted to Jamalpur Sadar Hospital in a critical condition and locals staged a demonstration to protest against the incident. In Jhenidah, the AL candidate for Abaipur UP in Shailkupa upazila gave a poll boycott call yesterday. He alleged that a rival candidate and his supporters were attacking his followers and indulging in vandalism and arson. But the local administration was not paying heed to his complaints, he added. The elections will be held in 710 UPs under 92 upazilas in 46 districts. The polls will begin at 8am and continue till 4pm in around 6,500 centres. A total of 1.10 crore voters will cast their votes. A total of 3,223 chairman candidates will contest the polls, 25,000 will contest for the posts of general ward members and over 5,000 for reserved ward members. Over one lakh election officers and around 1.5 lakh law enforcers will be engaged in election duty. Besides, judicial and executive magistrates will be deployed for three days in election areas to monitor law and order. At least 27 ruling party candidates have already been elected unopposed.
